So, like, last fall, there was this big shindig at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, where a bunch of teachers and government folks were all hyped about this document called “Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change.” The document, which was like 52 pages long, dropped during Climate Week NYC, and it was all about helping young people get a grip on the science behind climate change and the skills needed to tackle it. Frank Niepold from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) was super stoked about it and hoped everyone would jump on board. He was like, “This ain’t just for teachers, yo. It’s for all educators, communicators, and decision-makers.”
Fast forward to April, and the Trump administration goes and cuts funding for the program that put out the guide, the U.S. Global Change Research Program. And not just that, but other agencies that helped with it, like NOAA, also got hit with layoffs. The guide itself even got yanked off the government website, leaving a big fat error message in its place.
Then, on April 8, the Department of Commerce comes out with a press release saying they’re slashing more funds for climate research, claiming that all this talk about climate change is causing “climate anxiety” in young folks. They’re basically saying, “Nah, we ain’t gonna pay for educating K-12 students about this stuff anymore.”
But get this: even though these kids are supposedly all anxious about climate change, turns out they don’t know squat about it. A survey released in April by EdWeek and the Aspen Institute found that:
– Only 12 percent of teens think they know a lot about what causes climate change.
– Just over half of teens correctly pointed out that human activities like greenhouse gas emissions are the main reason for climate change.
– Less than half of teens realize that there’s a solid scientific consensus on humans causing climate change. And get this, more than half of them wrongly believe that scientists are split 50-50 on the whole thing. Like, how do they even come up with this stuff?
– More than half of teens thought that recycling could make a big dent in climate change. But, in reality, recycling isn’t all that when it comes to saving the planet. There are way better solutions out there.
While the U.S. government is taking a backseat and American teens are struggling to figure out the basics, other countries are moving full steam ahead. The PISA program, a big international assessment thing, announced they’re gonna test students on their climate knowledge in 2029.
Andreas Schleicher, the dude in charge of PISA, says the test is meant to make students feel like they can actually do something about climate change. He’s looking at countries like Japan and Canada, where they’ve been teaching this stuff for ages.
So, back in the U.S., science teachers are passing around that climate guide like it’s contraband. Colorado’s updating their science standards with it, and the University of Washington even slapped a copy on their STEM Teaching Tools website. They’re getting mad traffic, like 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a month, checking out that guide.
Deb Morrison, a total boss in the education game, says they rushed to get the guide out in time for a big science education conference in Philly. She’s like, “Every state is teaching climate change, whether they like it or not. It’s happening all over the place.”
But with the guide being MIA from the government site and climate data collection getting axed, things are looking a bit sketchy. There’s a real concern that without solid scientific knowledge, we’re all gonna be making decisions based on, like, opinions and pseudo-experts. And that’s no good for anyone.
Schleicher knows that pushing climate literacy through PISA is crucial for getting people on the same page. In a world where folks think the earth is flat, he says, “Science is what brings us together, based on facts and stuff.” Without that, we’re pretty much doomed.
So, yeah, this is my last piece on climate and education for The Hechinger Report. It’s been a wild ride, covering everything from little kids to grown-ups, from traditional knowledge to climate storytelling. If you wanna keep up with what I’m doing next, check me out at Hechinger, Grist, or sign up for my newsletter.
Just remember, folks, when it comes to climate change, we gotta get our facts straight if we wanna make it out in one piece. And that’s no joke.
